These days, it is becoming more common for low-voltage contractors to specialize
in a specific type of work (such as security or
audiovisual) or a specific customer base (such
as hospitals or schools).

While the Network Services Group of
Rosendin Electric, San Jose, Calif., does work for
a wide range of customers, it has also been able
to carve out a customer niche: transportation,
including rail, air and highway.

Founded in 1919, Rosendin Electric has
been an employee-owned company since 2000.
It has more than 5,000 employees worldwide
and offices in eight states. The company has also
performed work in more than 30 states.

The company’s Network Services Group provides a single source for customers’ data and
telecommunications needs. It specializes in fiber and performs a wide variety of terminations
and splicing.

Overall, the group bids strategically, rath-er than gravitating toward any specific groupof customers.

“We look for projects that make sensefor what we can do,” Clarkson said. “How-ever, we have ended up being really good attransportation projects. One thing we do, for ex-ample, is video signage for bus terminals andtrain stations.”The group has been involved in a numberof airport projects. A job at the San Jose In-ternational Airport involved the demolition andrenovation of 100,000 square feet, followed bynew construction of a four-story, 433,000-square-foot terminal building with an inline baggagehandling system, security checkpoints and pe-destrian bridges.

In the north concourse of the Sacramento
International Airport, the group was involved
with electrical and telecom duct bank installation, including cabling to support the passenger
terminal boarding areas and security systems.
Terminal A modifications included improving
flow and capacity to the security entrance
points as well as upgrading the security systems and fire alarm system. With the new
construction in Terminal B, the division was
involved in security checkpoints, baggage scanning devices, a TSA-approved security system,
the fire alarm system and significant tele/data
infrastructure. Terminal C modifications included major upgrades to the tele/data, security,
fire alarm and other systems.

The group is also involved in many projectsrelated to highway and traffic monitoring, in-cluding Wi-Fi, radio and CCTV.“We do a lot of work for [the California De-partment of Transportation],” he said.The group also works with the Departmentof Homeland Security on projects such as CCTVnetworks for bridges and tunnels and radar de-tection systems for water-to-land intrusion.

These days, one of the Network Services
Group’s most popular types of projects relates to
electrical work on high-occupancy vehicle (HOV)
lanes, also known as a carpool lanes or diamond
lanes. HOV lanes are a traffic-management
strategy designed to promote ridesharing and
features a restricted traffic lane reserved for
peak travel times.

“It is a lane that drivers can get into and payto use during commuting hours,” Clarkson said.“The Bay Area has been going live with a lot ofHOV projects recently.”The group’s work involved handling the elec-tronic monitoring of these lanes in and aroundthe Bay Area. It just completed the work for a
10½-mile HOV stretch of I-580.

“This was an area that really needed it,”Clarkson said.The group is also working on an HOV lanesfor a stretch of I-680.One key to success on all its projects is work-ing closely with others involved. These includemany of its product and equipment vendors.

“Big ones for us are Panduit, CommScopeand Superior Essex,” Clarkson said. “On the net-work side, we work closely with vendors suchas Cisco, Juniper, Dell and Avaya.”The group also works closely with generalcontractors.

“We are part of their budgeting process from
the beginning, and then we are in touch with
them on daily basis during the projects,” he said.
“We also work internally, connecting with the
electrical side of our business on projects we
are both involved in.”

ATKINSON has been a full-time business magazine writer since 1976. Contact
him at
w.atkinson@mchsi.com.

“We look for projects thatmake sense for what we cando. However, we have endedup being really good attransportation projects.”